Residents concerned over rising peafowl population in Coimbatore city

Forest Dept. relies on people to control peafowl population in Coimbatore. Feeding by residents is major cause of spurt. Peafowls inhabit defunct Pankaja Mill, causing concerns among residents. Necessary action needed to protect ecosystem & prevent human-animal conflict. Awareness drives urge people to stop feeding birds to reduce population.

The Forest Department apparently relies entirely on the cooperation of the people in respective neighbourhoods to control the peafowl population in the city and suburbs.

The department has noticed that feeding of the birds by a section of residents has been the major cause for the spurt in population of the birds.

Increasing presence of the National Bird, a protected species under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, is pronounced in Puliakulam area, according to the residents.

“The birds come out into the residential localities in search of food from the now defunct Pankaja Mill in Puliakulam where the greenery inside has come to serve as its habitat, during mornings and evenings,” Pechimuthu, a resident of Periyar Nagar, said.

“As such, the birds that have been breeding inside the premises of the mill for the last four years ever since it was shut down during the COVID-19 lockdown do not cause any disturbance, but there are indeed apprehensions regarding its growing numbers among the residents,” he added.

“Peafowls are fast spreading out of the mill premises in search of food and water. Necessary action must be taken by the authorities for protecting the ecosystem and preventing human-animal conflict,” Harish, another resident, said.

Peafowl being the National Bird, must be protected, he added.